Whether the fans recognize him or not, Duvall has stamped himself as a likely All-Star in his first full season in Cincinnati. He has four home runs in his last five games and 10 in his last 15.
“I’m just trying to help the team win,” Duvall said, “and drive in some runs and play some good defense and let everything else take care of itself. I’m just seeing it good right now. I’m really trying to slow everything down and get good pitches to hit and take good swings.”
Cozart fifth: Shortstop Zack Cozart is the only Red among the top five in All-Star voting at his position. He's fifth with 307,616 votes, more than 500,000 behind Addison Russell of the Chicago Cubs.
After missing most of the 2015 season with a knee injury, Cozart is hitting .301 with eight home runs and 23 RBIs.
“It’s another thing you’d love to check off in your life in baseball, being a major-league All-Star,” Reds manager Bryan Price said. “For me, you want the most deserving people to be there. I think if he continues on this pace, he’ll be there.”
Draft night: The Reds have three picks on the first night of the Major League Baseball draft Thursday. They have the No. 2 overall pick and are expected to draft at 7:16 p.m. They have the 35th pick in the competitive balance lottery round A at 9:58 p.m. and a second-round pick, the 43rd overall, at 10:13 p.m.
The draft starts at 7 p.m. and will be televised on the MLB Network.
Perfect night: Billy Hamilton went 3-for-3 Tuesday in a 7-6 victory over the Cardinals, raising his average to .263. He singled in the eighth against former Reds reliever Jonathan Broxton and after the game remembered a quirk of having Broxton as a teammate.
“I’d come in every day, and he’d cut up my shirts and put them in the trash,” Hamilton said. “You’re kind of afraid of him a little bit. You never know what he’s going to do. But he’s always been a great guy.”
Series finale: Brandon Finnegan (2-4, 3.89) starts the final game of the series against the Cardinals at 7:10 p.m. Thursday against Adam Wainwright (5-4, 5.40).
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